Field
The present disclosure relates to security enclosures and, more particularly, to rack mountable security enclosures.
Description of the Related Art
Data and communication centers often house network infrastructure components and network devices, such as switches, routers, relays, servers, storage devices, patch panels, and other electronic equipment. The electronic equipment is often mounted to a structure such as an equipment rack. An equipment rack is generally a metal frame that is designed and dimensioned such that the electronic equipment can be stacked one above the other. Electronic equipment are generally secured to a front surface of the rack by, for example, screws or clips. One or more cables are generally attached to each piece of electronic equipment. For example, cables may run between pieces of electronic equipment on a single rack and/or to other electronic equipment remote from the rack. A rack of electronic equipment may have hundreds of cables.
The rack is generally an open structure. Accordingly, this provides open access to the electronic equipment. One problem with this arrangement is that in addition to allowing operators and technicians access to the electronic equipment, those with nefarious intentions will also have access. These nefarious intentions may include any type of tampering, sabotage, theft or other action that can cause disruption to the electronic equipment. One solution is to place the equipment rack in a locked room. However, organizations often have tens or hundreds of racks of electronic equipment which may need to be serviced by different technicians/vendors. Allowing a technician/vendor access to the room to service a specific rack also provides them unnecessary access to the other racks.
Additional types of security may be provided to limit access to electronic equipment. For example, cabinets having side panels and a locking door may be utilized to secure all of the electronic equipment in the cabinet. For example, technicians from many different vendors may need access to the electronic equipment in a cabinet. Unlocking the cabinet to allow various service personnel to work on a piece of network equipment exposes all network equipment within the cabinet to theft or tampering. Further, the addition of cabinets adds more complexity for testing and repair service personnel in terms of limited access to the interior of the cabinet, which increases service times and costs. Further, the cost of the cabinets and the additional space requirements increases the overall cost of the installation.
In addition to the above-noted access/security problems with present rack and cabinet enclosures, the cabling going to and from the electronic equipment in the rack or cabinet may also present problems. As noted above, a rack or cabinet may have hundreds of cables coming from or going to electronic equipment in the rack or cabinet. For a rack or cabinet having a locking door, the cabling can get in the way when closing the door. If pinched by a door being closed, a cable's integrity can be compromised. A damaged cable can take numerous man hours to detect and can cause otherwise working electronic equipment to be needlessly replaced.